Summer of Memories
by EmeraldLily7918
Summary: Set in the summer after Seigaku wins the Nationals, Seigaku gets invited to a training camp in Osaka. But their dear Coach didn't tell them they'd be training with GIRLS! Regulars x OC Previously called: To Revive A Withered Flower.
1. Chapter 1

The boys of Seishun Academy crashed into Kawamura Sushi. One by one, they found their self-assigned seats. It really wasn't surprising considering how many times they had gone to the place to celebrate for each win they had in their trip to Nationals and so forth.

But this time, there was a special reason. It was the last day of school and without school and tennis keeping them together; even the team's densest and most insensitive players were a bit worried that when the new school year came they wouldn't be as close friends as before. Not to mention, next year five of its members would be going on to high school.

Food was served and Momo and Ryoma, the infamous 'Bottomless Pits' of the Seigaku tennis team dug in along with everyone else. There was a tense atmosphere in the air as the players all contemplated what they would do without their dear friends. For once, the rivals, Momo and Kaidoh weren't arguing. For awhile, all that could be heard was the song _If I Die Young_ playing on the speakers and thoughtful chewing.

"That's such a sad song ~nya," Eiji commented mournfully, breaking the awkward silence between them. They had to agree, a song about people dying wasn't exactly what normal people called happy.

"Actually, it's not that bad. I like the tune." Fuji argued. Well, normal had never been a term one applied to the team and especially not Fuji Syuusuke, the team's resident tensai.

The team sweat dropped; it was just like their resident tensai. Fuji Syuusuke was what girls called angelic. He always kept his calm composure and hid his emotions under a placid smile and serenely closed eyes.

But the team knew better. Under the serenely closed eyes was a pair of icy cerulean orbs that could freeze the blood in your veins. And despite how oblivious some members of the team were, none could deny the chill they felt when the tensai was angry. In some minds, it was of him with his eyes open and his chin-length brunette hair flying in the breeze with lightning in the background.

_Sadist,_ they thought accusingly as he swallowed some wasabi sushi and chewed slowly.

He swallowed and turned to them with what looked like a sadistic smile. "Do you need something?" He asked.

They gave a start and resumed eating, averting their gaze from his closed eyes. The sushi shop resumed its awkward silence as someone looked for something to say that didn't bring up summer vacation.

Tezuka cleared his throat, drawing everyone's' attention to him. "I have a very important announcement to make," he started. "We have received a letter from a training camp in Osaka. They are inviting us to train with them for the summer. Please bring only the essentials. They also said that we should have nine people for reasons unknown so Inui, you're on the team again." Tezuka tossed a regular's jacket to the stunned boy.

"Ii data," Inui pushed up his opaque glasses with a sadistic smile on his lips.

"The dorms will be paid for," Coach Ryuzaki added. "Tezuka has already asked all your parents and he was planning to ask your father Taka-san today. They have all agreed and we'll be leaving within the week."

Eiji and Momo looked horrified.

"Tezuka-buchou, you're taking Inui so he can feed us that poison he calls juice." Momo accused, his purple eyes sparkling with sadness at his buchou's betrayal.

A gasp came from the crowd and a few people relived their first acquaintance with hell.

"How could you? I thought we could trust you." Eiji exclaimed; his flippy red hair suddenly looked droopy.

Oishi gave Eiji a comforting pat on the back and Tezuka a hard glare. Even he couldn't believe that his stern buchou would do such a thing.

"Te-"

He sighed and rubbed his temples stressfully. His team was overdramatic, yes, but even he could not have guessed how dramatic some of them could be. Really, he takes Inui along and suddenly they think he's trying to murder them. With a sigh, Tezuka reached into his pocket and pulled out the letter he had received this morning. He handed it to Momo.

"I can't believe it," Momo said in a hushed tone as he read the letter.

"What ~nya?" Eiji crowded in to look.

They suddenly flung themselves at Tezuka with tears of joy running down their cheeks.

"We're sorry, Tezuka-buchou! Please, forgive us." They sobbed happily.

Tezuka sighed again and picked up the letter before anyone else could look at it. The letter had actually said 'we will not inform you of the reason for this'. Another sigh escaped his lips. _This is what I get for letting my guard down._

"Baka Momo. Distrusting buchou," Kaidoh muttered, though he couldn't deny the doubt he felt when he heard the announcement.

"What did you say Mamushi?" Momo said, grabbing the collar of his shirt.

This led into a new fight that only brought chaos to the room. The team sighed happily. Now that they were sure that would still be friends when the summer ended, it was time to PARTY!

Takashi somehow got a racket during the party and he brandished it with vigor. A fire lit up in his chocolate eyes as he shouted "Great-o!" and "Baby!" He ended up whacking his captain in the head and was denied racket privileges for the rest of the night.

"What's this? Are you planning to steal my son for the summer?" Takashi's father asked when Coach Ryuzaki told him the news.

Kawamura sighed, "Well, my idiot son does love tennis; if you want to I can manage around here." He shooed his son to a table with his friends.

"Dad, if you need me I can stay," Takashi argued with a concerned look on his face.

"No, no, you won the Nationals, you get to get away from your old man for a summer as your prize." Kawamura joked with a merry twinkle in his eyes. "And, you have yet to catch up with the rest of your teammates."

Takashi blushed, "Arigatou, Dad," he said with a bow.

"Kawamura-san, that is very generous of you. Sakuno and her friends can help around here until your son comes back." Coach Ryuzaki turned to her granddaughter.

Even though she was Sakuno's grandmother, she wasn't going to spoil her granddaughter. Sakuno met the stern woman's gaze with a smile, "I would be happy to help you, Kawamra-san." She bowed.

"Yeah, Sakuno-chan, the freshman trio, and I can help you here." Tomoka said enthusiastically, her hazel pigtails bouncing in delight.

"Tomo-chan," Sakuno whispered to the pig-tailed girl. "You don't have to, I don't want to bother you and you have to take care of your brothers."

Tomoka shook her head at the girl with a wide smile. "Ne, Sakuno-chan, I didn't tell you? My bratty brothers are going to summer school, I can help you out and since they are gone, you can stay with us until your grandmother some back."

A bright smile lit up the girl's chocolate eyed as she heard the news. Then a quickly as it appeared, it was gone. "I don't want to trouble anyone." Sakuno murmured, looking down at her hands.

Tomoka clapped her friends on the back. "No, I insist. Plus, it makes perfect sense. You can stay with us until your Obaa-san comes back and in the morning I can make sure you don't get lost."

Coach Ryuzaki smiled at the mention of her granddaughter's talent of getting lost. She _was_ worried about her and without the brat, Echizen, to conveniently rescue Sakuno, she needed someone to get her anywhere safely. Plus, she would only drop the regulars off and stay for a week before coming back.

"I think it's a great idea, Osakada. Sakuno, you can stay at her house until I get back." She cut in before her timid granddaughter could protest.

"Okay," Tomoka chirped. "The freshman trio _is_ going to help Sakuno-chan and I at Kawamura Sushi, right Horio-kun?" She turned to the big-mouthed leader of the trio.

"What?" Startled, Horio swallowed his sushi without chewing, he choked. "Ne, we are?" He asked.

"Sure, Tomoka-chan. We'll help," Kachiro cut in before Horio could reply.

Coach Ryuzaki raised her voice so that everybody was giving her their attention. "Everybody, we'll be leaving his week. Please pack only the necessities and we'll meet on Friday at the train station at 10:00 a.m."

"Hoi, hoi," Eiji raised his glass in cheer as did everyone else, some a bit less enthusiastic than others.

The rest of the night passed with minimum fanfare. Soon enough, the nine boys were retiring to their beds with thoughts of what would happen five days from then.

* * *

At 10:05 a.m., all of the Seigaku tennis regulars were at the train station except for Ryoma and Momo. It was the day of the departure and all their friends and close fans had come to see them off.

"Sakuno-chan, won't you miss Ochibi?" Eiji asked, glomping the blushing girl. It was common knowledge that the Ryuzaki girl had a crush on the dense freshman. Which was a terrible pick on her part cause the boy was as sensitive as a rock, and that was an insult to rocks. Well, at least everybody _thought_ that the girl had a crush on Ryoma.

Sakuno's face turned a shade of red that put tomatoes to terrible shame. But this wasn't the reason everyone thought. "Ano, Kikumaru-sempai," she paused, unsure how to break the news to her sempai-tachi. She did not, in fact, have a crush on Ryoma. It's just, her personality was so meek that she had a habit of stuttering when she had to converse with someone like Ryoma and Tomoka and just about everyone else.

"Hmm, Sakuno-chan?" He clung onto her like a starfish.

"Of course Sakuno will miss Ryoma-sama," Tomoka said indignantly as if Eiji had just asked _her_ whether she would miss Ryoma or not. "Right, Sakuno?"

Sakuno really couldn't stand this. She hated lying and was terrible at it. It was only because nobody had bothered to ask her a question like this before that she had managed to escape the inevitable. Luckily, she was saved by a _very_ angry Coach Ryuzaki.

"Where are those two? The train's coming any moment," she fumed. She took out her phone and dialed Momo's number. It rang twice and then went to voicemail.

"They should be here in," Inui started. He did the calculations in his head then, "3… 2… 1…"

"Sorry, we're late! Echizen overslept." They all turned their heads to see a two boys approaching on a bike with two duffel bags.

"What? You were the one who _insisted_ on having breakfast!" Ryoma said loudly, caught between talking normally and screaming. He raised one hand to his emerald hair and felt for his Fila hat. Thankfully, it hadn't fallen off.

"The breaks won't work!" Momo yelled, ignoring his comment. The two crashed into a wall.

"You were late, Baka Momo," Kaidoh growled.

In a flash, the two second years were fighting. "What did you say, Mamushi?" Momo stood up and faced the snake-like boy defiantly.

"Alright you two, we have get to the train in," Tezuka checked with Inui.

"According to this, the train will be here in 1.5 minutes." Inui replied.

Coach Ryuzaki turned the team, "Alright, say your goodbyes and hurry up."

There weren't many goodbyes. Tomoka clung onto Ryoma while Sakuno stood in the back. Thankfully, the sempai-tachi were to busy basking in the goodbyes of the freshman trio to meddle.

"Bye Ryoma-sama!" Tomoka uttered one last goodbye before the regulars and Coach Ryuzaki boarded the train with their bags.

"Goodbye, Obaa-san," Sakuno said.

"Bye, Momochan-sempai!" The freshman trio chorused, him being their favorite sempai. The spiky haired boy turned back, his purple eyes glistening with over-emotional happiness, and waved,

"Nya~ I'll miss you!" Eiji almost started crying, his warm brown eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"We'll be fine, Eiji-sempai!" Sakuno raised her voice. "It's only a summer."

"Don't forget about Ochibi, Sakuno-chan!" Eiji yelled, finally boarding the train with his bag. The auburn-haired girl blushed.

* * *

It was about two hours from Tokyo to Osaka by bullet train. Sadly, the regulars and their coach weren't traveling by bullet train so for the next three hours, they had to stay on a train. Tezuka and Inui were playing chess from a chess set Inui had brought on board. Fuji was taking pictures of the scenery with his trusty digital camera. Momo and Kaidoh were fighting and Takashi and Eiji were watching landscape and commenting at every interesting thing they saw. Nobody, not even Tezuka, brought _only_ the essentials.

"Che, I'm bored." Ryoma muttered, pulling his Fila hat down. He was trying to sleep, but for some reason, he couldn't.

"I brought some Aozu. You can drink that for nutrition." Inui offered, standing up from his game with Tezuka to retrieve his green duffel bag.

"Never mind, Inui-sempai." For some reason, Ryoma found it very easy to sleep after that.

Inui sat down disappointedly. He had a deluxe version that he wanted to try out. Oh, well. There's always next time. Right?

* * *

The train stopped at Osaka Station. Momo and Eiji sprinted out of the train as the doors were opening. Towards the end of the trip, they had grown restless and resorted to annoying their sempai-tachi kohai as entertainment. It worked until they messed up the chess board and Tezuka put them on 'time out' and Inui implied that he would make them his next test subject for his new and improved Aozu.

"Finally," Eiji gasped, kissing the ground in his eagerness to flee the train.

Momo was too caught up in his next argument to appreciate the wonderfulness of solid ground. "What are you implying, Mamushi?" He was asking at the moment, his violet eyes flashing in anger.

Inui stepped off the train next and straightened his glasses professionally. "I'll have to improve my calculations. We got off .5 minutes earlier than I thought." He mulled to himself. The sound of pencil scratching was heard.

Half the regulars stepped off the train and stretched.

"Hey, where's Coach Ryuzaki?" Takashi suddenly asked, straightening up and looking around.

"Now, that you mention it, Ochibi, Oishi, and Tezuka aren't here either." Eiji stopped his acrobatics to look around.

"Hey, Bakas, did you forget your luggage!?" A voice from the train asked irately. Coach Ryuzaki came off the bus with three bags on top of her. She paused at the exit, set the bags down, and adjusted her pony-tail. Echizen came with his bag in his hand. He muttered a "Che," and stepped off. Oishi got off with three in his hands and Tezuka walked off after him, still managing to look imposing with his face barely visible under three bags.

"Nya~ thank you, Tezuka. Don't mind, don't mind." Eiji scratched the back of his head sheepishly and moved forward to help his captain.

"Eh, Gomenasai," Takashi apologized, moving forward to take the weight off his coach.

"Don't just stand there. Help buchou and fukubuchou." Kaidoh said, nudging Momo forward. Momo gulped and moved forward to help. The look in Tezuka's eyes was enough to stop him from arguing with Kaidoh.

"Stop being lazy and help us!" He called to the boy who had taken out a can of Ponta and was currently lounging on his bag.

"Fine," Echizen muttered. He got up and helped take the load off of Coach Ryuzaki.

"You Bakas have to carry our bags to the training camp." Coach Ryuzaki informed them once three bags were off of her.

"Eh, why?" Momo asked in astonishment.

"You guys didn't help us," she said, her eyes flashing fire.

Eiji was about to protest more, but the glare that she shot him was enough to silence him on that matter.

"Ne, Fujiko, did you actually forget your bag?" He leaned over and asked the tensai.

"No," Fuji replied simply with a placid smile. He had not, in fact, forgotten about his bag. He was just busy with his camera. He certainly did not expect for half the team to forget.

Eiji sweat dropped.

"Arigatou, Tezuka." Fuji smiled. He raised his camera up and snapped a picture of his pissed off buchou.

"Fuji,"

"Hmm, Tezuka?"

"20 laps when we get to the camp." Tezuka had heard what Fuji said.

Fuji opened his mouth to reply but Tezuka cut him off.

"-And no camera privileges for a week."

He was silent after that as he picked up his and Tezuka's packs, though he couldn't help thinking that Tezuka was so sly. Finding how to get him to carry his pack for him.

* * *

Tezuka nodded approvingly at the sight of the training camp. It had a giant building in the center with two small rectangular ones to its side. There was a pond near the tennis courts which were in front of the building. A small but lush grove of trees was the building's backyard along with a garden. But what impressed him most were the tennis courts. They were enormous with twelve courts in rows of six. There was also a track built around the perimeter for running laps.

It was a bird's eye view of the camp.

The team approached the camp and stopped at it gate. They were surprised to find a girl with blond pig-tails that reached down her waist rushing at them. She tripped when she was two feet away from them. Tezuka made a move to help her, but was surprised to find her curl herself into a ball and roll, breaking her fall.

She hopped up and gave them a smile. Tezuka noticed that her bangs covered her eyes. "Hey, you must be the new team. I'm Chiyoko Ami." The girl stopped and frowned a bit. "But you can call me Ami," she said decisively.

"Hello, we're the Seigaku tennis team." He stepped forward.

The girl gave a hearty laugh and looked up at him. "I know that silly. You're Tezuka Kunimitsu, the buchou. I'll take you to Ren-chan." She bubbled. "She's _our_ buchou." She leaned forward and whispered secretively before giggling and dancing away.

"Follow me!" She called after them.

Coach Ryuzaki led them forward boldly. Tezuka glanced at her and wondered if there was something he didn't know.

They passed the tennis courts. For the first time, he noticed that there were people rallying in them. This game as a surprise, he didn't know they had to _share_ with another team. And a _girls'_ team?

A girl with a black hair in a pony-tail and a severe gaze stood dominantly, overseeing the matches. Once in a while she would yell something like "Use your arm!" or "More power!" Her gaze would scan over the courts, stop, yell, start again. It seemed that she didn't miss a thing.

Tezuka guessed that she was Ren.

Two brilliant golden eyes found fell on him and his team. She seemed to stand even straighter, if that was possible, and her hand went up to readjust her pony-tail.

"Hey, you must be the Seigaku tennis team. I'm Amateratsu Ren." She extended a hand to shake. A small smile adorned her lips so she looked friendly, but severe.

"Hello, I'm Sumire Ryuzaki." Coach Ryuzaki said, stepping forward to give her hand a shake. "You're the team that invited us?" It was more of a statement than a question. Ren gave a definite nod.

Tezuka gave a start, though he didn't show it. He and his team were supposed to practice with a _girls'_ team? That would cause _too_ many problems. He was certain that he and Echizen wouldn't do anything like _that_. But, he couldn't trust anybody else to be like they were.

"This will change my calculations. I didn't bring enough Aozu for everybody. I guess I'll have to make some more." Inui wrote in his notebook fast enough that one page was filled in thirty seconds. "Ketchup… bug… radish…" he would mutter under his breath once in a while, to the horror of his teammates.

"Ami, you can go begin your match with Izuka. Just ten feet forward and near the water fountain." Ren dismissed the pig-tailed girl.

"Hai, Ren-buchou," Ami bounced away to where a girl with dark red hair was waiting. She tripped on her own feet five feet away, but recovered herself.

The regulars exchanged questioning glances among each they. They couldn't help but wonder why Ren had to give the girl directions to something that was only ten feet away. They decided that whether the girls' team wanted to or not, all their questions would be answered.

"I'll give you a tour." Ren turned back to them with a slightly amused expression.

"Do you think Tezuka knew we would have to practice with girls?" Momo asked from behind him.

"I think he is pretending to be surprised." Fuji replied with a smile, "So sly."

"Nya~ you think so?"

"I didn't know Buchou could be so sly." Ryoma commented.

"There is a 67% chance that Tezuka didn't know."

Tezuka fumed inwardly and reminded himself to punish Fuji.

The rectangular building, as big as it looked from up high, was not as big as they thought. It contained a hallway with ten rooms on each side and two bathrooms near the back.

"This is where you'll be sleeping." Ren informed them, showing them the contents of a room. A queen sized bed was placed in the middle with a desk at the side and a dresser to the right.

"Nya~ it's so big!" Eiji exclaimed happily. He ran to the bed and bounced on it, doing some acrobatics.

"Wait for me Eiji-sempai!" Momo yelled.

"Please don't do that." Ren cut in, before he could do any damage to the bed. She focused her molten gold gaze on them and they stopped, walking back to their buchou's side.

Tezuka felt the sudden need to apologize for his teammates' childishness. It really was embarrassing when you are captain of two five year olds.

"Momo, Eiji, apologize to Amateratsu-san." He instructed them with an expression that looked like it was chipped from marble.

"Gomenasai, Amateratsu-san," Momo and Eiji replied sullenly.

Ren felt her lip twitch upward. She forced her facial muscles to stay stoic and gave them a nod.

"We'll be sleeping on the other side of the hall." She said. "You can't go in there uninvited." She eyed them like she was afraid that they would do something horrible.

"Don't worry. Tezuka won't let those Bakas get away with anything without laps." Coach Ryuzaki laughed, patting the stoic boy on the back. He pushed up his oval-rimmed glasses with a sigh.

_I should never have agreed to this!_

Ren was, apparently pleased enough with their reaction. She gave a little nod, as if she was reassured that her girls would not suddenly demand for certain boys to be kicked out of camp in the morning.

"Please choose your rooms and make yourselves comfortable. Dinner will start in a few hours and until then you can explore as long as you stay out of our training. We eat in the main building so it shouldn't be too hard to find." She turned on her heels and walked out of the room. A faint smile played across her lips before she straightened her face.

"Okay choose your-"

Coach Ryuzaki stopped as she saw most of the boys rushing to their chosen rooms.

"Hey, I got here first!"

"Baka Momo, I get the room!" Kaidoh and Momo argued. They grabbed each other by the collar and glared.

"Get out of my room, Mamushi!" Momo retorted. "I want to sleep near the entrance."

"Baka, you only want that so you can be the first out to dinner." Kaidoh growled.

"Well, why do you need the room?"

"I need to run in the mornings."

"We-"

Oishi sighed and walked over to break up the fight. "I'm sure that this isn't the best room." He pushed the two rivals away from each other. "Kaidoh, I think that it'll be better exercise if you had to walk more." He reasoned, deciding to talk to the one that was more likely to listen.

"Hai, sempai," Kaidoh growled, walking to the last room and slamming the door shut.

Oishi sighed and positioned his room near Kaidoh's to keep the two away.

* * *

The regulars sat on one side of the table while they waited for their meal. They had spent the last two hours unpacking and going about their business. Needless to say, such tasks made one very hungry. Polished plates gleamed invitingly in the light of the chandeliers.

"I wonder why the girls' team isn't here yet." Eiji asked happily.

Momo looked longingly at the direction he thought was the kitchen as his stomach protested at the lack of food. "Forget the girls, where's the food?" He whined mournfully. "My stomach is dying here!"

A giggle came from the other end of the room. Momo turned his head to see nine girls at the entrance. A blush rose on his cheeks when he realized that they were probably listening.

"Argh, I'm _staaarving_," Ami complained. "Ren-buchou was out to kill us today." She skipped forward and found a seat near the middle of the table. There were murmurs of agreement as one by one, the girl found their spots on the table.

"I'm sorry to keep you and your team waiting." Ren apologized. "As you can see, my girls believe that I was out to kill them."

Tezuka would have been Echizen and said something like "Che," but since he was polite and knew how to be a gentleman he didn't. "We weren't waiting very long." He said even though they had been waiting for a good fifteen minutes.

"Well, that's good. I wouldn't want your team to go hungry." She joked, shooting a glance at Momo.

Food was served and for a moment, there was nothing but the sound of chewing. A peaceful silence was developed, though some of the Seigaku regulars couldn't help but notice that the girls were eating as much as Ryoma and Momo.

"What does Amateratsu-san make them do every day?" Oishi leaned over to Eiji and asked. He couldn't help the horrifying images of girls collapsing on the courts from exhaustion.

"Nya~ I'm scared," came the reply.

One of the girls looked from her food and eyed him. Oishi blushed at the fact that she had heard him. "Ren-buchou just trains us really hard." She explained, swallowing some onigiri. "She's actually really nice when we aren't training."

Oishi glanced at Ren doubtfully. She had seemed so severed this afternoon, all he could imagine her as was a female Tezuka. "I'm sure she is," he said doubtfully.

"She's scary," Eiji commented.

The girl laughed musically, her turquoise strands of hair falling back. "Just wait. You'll know what I mean."

* * *

Ryoma sighed and leaned back in his chair. He had never thought that anyone could be this full, yet he was proved wrong since some of the girls were still eating. He had gobbled down sushi and chowed on onigiri. And there was still desert! _These girls are crazy!_ He thought as he watched some of them eat. He noticed a girl with misty blue hair gobbling on some turkey. She looked around his age, but he reminded himself that it was highly unlikely that she was a freshman.

"What are you looking at?" Ryoma gave a start as the girl trained her amber eyes on him.

"Che…" he muttered as he pulled his hat down on his head.

The girl narrowed her eyes at him. Usually people got all pissed off at her tone and started yelling and calling her unmentionable things. Hmm… it was weird that the team that won Nationals had someone this short on their team. He looked like a freshman. "How old are you?" She asked, curiosity getting the better of her. "Why are you so short?"

Momo guffawed from beside Ryoma as he heard the petite-looking girl just call his kohai short. Ryoma _hated_ being called short. He shot him a sideways look.

Ryoma had straightened up and was wearing that signature smirk of his. Momo recognized it as the one he wore when he was about to challenge someone to a match.

"Go easy one her, Echizen," he leaned over and whispered. Ryoma glared at him irritably and wondered if he was getting predictable.

"He's thirteen, just going into his second year." Momo replied for him, slinging an arm around his kohai in a somewhat tight headlock.

The girl trained her amber eyes on him next and glared. A smirk danced onto her lips as she spoke. "I am too." She was used to the astonished looks that people got when they saw her and this one was not different.

Momo looked at her in astonishment. "Really?" He asked.

"No shit."

Momo smiled at her attitude. It kind of reminded him of a firecracker. "You remind me of my sister, Firecracker-chan."

Ryoma sighed. The fact that the girl was the same age as him had piqued his interest. He made a mental note to ask her her name once he had crushed her at tennis. But really, what was with her appetite. He couldn't help but notice how much food she had eaten. It was really bugging him. How hard did her captain make her practice if she ate more than Momo-sempai?

* * *

"Neh, Tezuka, can I have my camera back?" Fuji smiled a bit when he got a twitch from his captain. It was payback time for taking away his camera.

He was lounging on a chair in a homely room. After dinner was finished, Ren had suggested they go into what the girls' team called the 'Living Room'. It wasn't really a living room, but it was designed to look like one and that was enough.

"That buchou scares me ~nya," Eiji sighed to Momo.

A mocking laughter reached their ears. They looked up to find a girl with black hair. She dressed in a gothic style with slashes that made seem punk. Leather black gloves adorned her hands.

"She's even scarier on the tennis courts," the girl said. "I'm surprised she invited you."

"Are you saying that we're not good enough?" Momo fumed. His hands clenched into fists.

The girl met his violet gaze with a gaze of her own. "Your words, not mine," she replied nonchalantly. She stopped and a smile danced across her lips. "But you certainly got the implication."

Eiji and Momo both opened their mouths to snap a reply when they were both cut off by another voice.

"Stop provoking them, Amaya." The two looked up to find them looking into Ren's molten gold gaze.

"Fine," Amaya grumbled. She pulled out a cigarette and stuck it in her mouth.

Ren turned back to them and apologized, "I'm sorry for my teammate's behavior."

"Don't mind, don't mind," Eiji waved it off.

"Well, I'll just check on how everyone else is doing then." Ren stood up abruptly and walked over to where Tezuka and Fuji were just as Fuji walked over.

Amaya looked after her, her eyes shining in admiration. Suddenly, the cigarette was pulled out of her mouth.

"It's not good to smoke," Ami said, giggling a bit at her astonished expression.

Amaya turned her head away irritably.

"Ah, hey, Fuji-sempai," Momo said as he saw him approaching.

"Hey, Fujiko."

Fuji gave a little wave and joined their little group. Just then, Inui let out an exclamation of surprise.

"Checkmate," Ren was grinning wickedly as she took Inui's king.

Ami sighed and watched her in admiration. "Ren is so good at everything," she commented. "It's kind of scary," she giggled.

"So... like a tensai?" Momo asked, eyeing the buchou warily.

Ami shook her head vigorously. "No, she's not a tensai. She's just hardworking and persistent."

"Hmm?"

She jerked her head over to a girl with dark red hair that covered half her face and cascaded down to mid-back. She was sitting alone and staring off into the distance in a way that made you want to know what she was thinking about.

"Izuka's the real tensai," Amaya explained. She got up and left after that as if she was board with the subject.

"Really now," Fuji said, looking over at the girl. She seemed kind of secluded and he couldn't help but wonder what the other half of her face looked like.

Ami nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, Izuka's good at everything."

Eiji furrowed his brow in confusion. "Really? She doesn't look that special. Actually, she's kind of creepy." He gave a little shiver. Her skin, he note, was almost white, it was creepy in a vampiric way.

Fuji opened his eyes when he looked at her. As if sensing something, she turned her head to look in his direction. Cerulean eyes clashed with a startling turquoise one.

_Those eyes!_ Izuka thought. She immediately broke contact. She couldn't stand them. They were too pure. Like a crystal. It felt like they could unveil her soul as easily as pulling back a curtain. She felt vulnerable.

Fuji froze. Then, she turned away. He closed his eyes again and a placid smile resumed its place on his face. Yet, he still couldn't stop thinking about those turquoise eyes. They were like electric. Yes, that's how he would describe them. They were electric. Like a bolt of lightning coming down from the sky. He could see a storm in them.

"Fuji-sempai, are you okay?"

Fuji gave a start, but he gave Momo a smile and nodded. He resumed listening avidly to their conversation. They seemed to be talking about a girl talking to Oishi.

"That's Kanon Suzuka," Ami told them. "She's kind of a nagger."

"Like Oishi-sempai," Momo exclaimed excitedly, like he had discovered something amazing.

It seemed like one of those moments where the moment you say something embarrassing everyone's quiet and hear it. Momo blushed as they all turned to him oddly.

"Never mind," he muttered, a blush coming up his face.

* * *

Izuka sighed and stood up suddenly. The room was too loud. It felt like the noise tripled. A dry chuckle escaped her lips as she thought that there were twice the people in here. She faked a yawn and excused herself. A few curious looks burned into her back, but she ignored them.

She walked into her room and took out a paintbrush. She used to come here every summer with Ren and Ami. Ami's father owned the place and it was her who had suggested inviting the team that won Nationals.

Izuka heaved a sigh as she looked at her room that was bigger than everyone else's. It was so that she could have more space to paint. One wall and half another one were already covered with designs painted in black watercolor. In the corner canvases stood on stands. They depicted green valleys and beautiful rivers. On one of them was an angel looking over the world. It was all in black and white.

Izuka ran the brush through her hands lovingly and dipped it into some black watercolor. She chose a new wall and the patterns flew out of her brush like magic. The paintbrush was an extension of her. Moving with it was easier than moving without it. When she played tennis she imagined that she was painting. A stroke here and a slice there.

She closed her eyes and let her arms trace no particular pattern. She always loved black. It was such a nice shade. Some people thought her dark or pessimistic for thinking like that, but they didn't see like she did. Her artists' eyes saw so many colors in black. It made the most beautiful designs to her. It was free.

She opened her eye again and a smiled curved the corner of her lips. She had painted most of the new wall. Suddenly, the fight drained out of her. She was tired from the training and those eyes. _Those eyes!_ They scared her so much!

Izuka collapsed on the bed with a sigh. Her hand went up to touch where her left eye was under her hair.

_Tomorrow will be fine_, she told herself.

* * *

Okay, so what do you think? PLEASE tell me any suggestions at all. Especially on my writing. Oh, and don't sugar-coat. I really want to improve it.


	2. Chapter 2

The Seigaku regulars were sitting at all sitting at breakfast. It was held outside in the shade of an awning. It was barely 7:00 a.m. all of them were up. Apparently, neither Tezuka nor Ren had rest in their vocabulary.

"Mmm…" this is good. Momo mumbled as he stuffed some food into his mouth. He was competing to see who could eat more food with Echizen.

"You guys are eating too little," Ami chirped as she bounced over to the table. She bumped into a chair and kept at it until she found an empty one. The regulars were surprised to find that her plate was piled high with food.

"Neh, you're eating too much." Eiji exclaimed as he made room for her.

Ami shook her head and started gobbling her food. "No… those guys," she pointed to Ryoma and Momo who were eating like pigs. "Know how to eat."

Eiji looked in their direction and gaped. "Mi-chan. You're crazy." He shook his head in disbelief.

Ami giggled at his nickname for her, but stood firm. "With that measly amount of food, you won't make it till lunch. Ren-chan's training is harsh."

"You should eat more Eiji-sempai. It's good," Momo advised, pausing in his competition with Ryoma.

"What does she make you do everyday?" Oishi asked. He was surprised to find that all the girls at the training camp ate as much as Ryoma and Momo.

Ami gave him a secretive smile and wagged her finger. "All I can tell you is you won't live till lunch on what you're eating."

Both Oishi and Eiji gulp and got up to get more food. Ami watched them go with a smile before turning back to Ryoma and Momo. "You guys should get more you food after this. That amount will only last you till lunch. It won't necessarily keep you from starving." Sure enough, most of the girls were getting second helpings.

Ryoma and Momo shared a glance. They were both at their limits and this girl was telling them to eat _more_? They shook their heads simultaneously and leaned back in satisfaction.

"Suit yourself," Ami shrugged before bouncing to the food table. They noticed that the girls seemed to part for her.

"Oi, Echizen, what do you think Amateratsu-san makes them do everyday?" Momo leaned down to ask. He couldn't imagine any kind of training that could make someone eat that much.

"Che, how am I supposed to know," Ryoma replied, pulling his Fila hat down. He couldn't imagine why his sempai was asking so many stupid questions.

Fuji ate some wasabi sushi and watched as most of the girls got up for seconds and thirds. He himself had gotten what he thought was a fair amount only to have everyone proving him wrong. The girls had their plates stacked high with foods.

"You should eat more."

Fuji looked up in surprise to find the girl Oishi was talking to yesterday. _Kanon _

_Suzuka,_ he vaguely remembered. Behind her was Izuka.

"Can we sit here?" Kanon asked, motioning to two empty seats.

"Sure," Takashi nodded. He was also eating a normal amount of food.

Izuka sat down reluctantly and dug into her own food. She was sitting alone, but Kanon had insisted that she socialized more. She sighed and pushed around a piece of fish. She could feel the boy with blue eyes looking at her in curiosity.

"Hi, I'm Fuji Syuusuke," he extended a hand politely.

Izuka eyed the hand doubtfully. She looked up into those piercing blue eyes and flinched. She gave him and acknowledging nod and resumed eating. She could feel his gaze burning even deeper into her back.

"I'm sorry for my teammate," Kanon apologized for her. "She doesn't like physical contact."

Fuji gave a nod and resumed eating. He couldn't help but wonder why then, he reminded himself that he shouldn't pry.

"Mmm…this is good. Who made this?" Takashi asked. He savored a bite of fish and chewed slowly, letting the flavor soak in.

Kanon looked up and blushed. She pushed up her glasses modestly and muttered, "I did."

Takashi looked at her in surprise. "This is really good. Where did you learn to cook like this?" The brown haired boy asked.

Kanon brightened quickly and went on to explain how she loved cooking. "I kind of learned myself," she told him excitedly.

"That's amazing! Did you make everything the other night too?" Takashi exclaimed.

"No, I had tennis practice."

The two started talking excitedly about how they both wanted to be chefs one day.

"Hey, have you ever drunk hot chocolate?" Kanon suddenly asked.

A thoughtful expression came upon Takashi's face. "No, what's that?" He asked.

Kanon smiled brightly and explained, "Hot chocolate is an American drink. It's really good with cinnamon. I can make it sometime; all the girls love it."

He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by Coach Ryuzaki.

"Alright," she sad loudly, drawing everyone's' attention. "Finish what you're eating and meet Tezuka and Amateratsu-san at the courts. You'll have five minutes."

Everyone starting to eat faster, trying to stuff anything they could into themselves to keep them going. For the boys' team, it was because they knew that Tezuka was going to work them to the bone and for the girls it was because they valued their life.

"Okay, Tezuka-san and I have agreed that you'll all do an equal amount." The girls heaved a sigh, thinking that Ren would have to lower her training regimen for the other team. "So, we'll start with 100 laps with ankle weights then go onto 20 pushups and last, practice matches."

"What!?" Eiji and Momo asked as they heard the training. "100 laps for WARM-UPS!? You're crazy!"

Ren narrowed her gaze and spoke in a level tone. "Be glad that I didn't add the high heels." She growled venomously.

Ami and Amaya immediately dragged them down. Well, actually, they both got a kick in the shins and a punch for Momo. "Don't provoke her or you'll be wearing high heels," they both whispered.

They gulped and nodded.

"Alright, get on with it!" Ren told them.

To the boys' surprise, most of the girls started running immediately. They set the pace at a run and were on the second lap when they were on their first one.

"Oi! You should pace yourselves!" Momo called to them as they rounded their third lap. To his surprise, none of them were showing the slightest hint of exhaustion. In fact, they weren't even sweating.

"If you guys don't speed up, Ren-buchou will give you one hundred push-ups!" Suzuka shouted back. She seemed to speed up her pace subconsciously.

"We can already do that much!" Momo replied irritably. "They should stop showing off," he muttered to Echizen. To his surprise, the boy pulled down his Fila hat and sped up. "O-oi! What are you doing?!" He asked in surprise.

"Running," was the reply.

"You can't do one hundred of the kind Ren-buchou makes us do!" A girl with dark brown hair called to them.

"This is why you should eat more!" Ami shouted to them. The girls were on their sixth laps already and were gaining on the boys rapidly.

Eiji looked around in astonishment when eight girls surrounded them. He was on his fifth lap and they were already being lapped.

"Eh!? Where did you come from?!" He asked; jumping as a girl with magenta hair appeared beside him.

She gave him a wink, "Behind you," she replied simply. "Didn't you notice?"

He shook his head numbly. "Who are you?"

"Shiori Miyoki!" She told him as she sped up with her teammates. "You?"

"Kikumaru Eiji!"

Ryoma smiled as he rounded his tenth lap. He could see the back of that girl with misty blue hair. What was her name again? Never mind. She was faster than most of her teammates and was already on her eleventh lap. He wasn't going to get beaten by a bunch of girls.

He looked around in surprise as he was caught in a pack of girls. _No! I am _not_ going to be out-run by girls!_ He pressed on and quickly emerged from the crowd. He was almost up with the girl now. _ Just a bit farther!_

"Suzuki, hurry up! That boy is catching up!"

Ryoma twitched as a yell came from behind him. _Boy!?_ Suzuki- that was her name- turned around and smirked. She quickly sped up, leaving him to be overtaken by girl again.

He growled irately as he had to push threw the crowd _again._ He was on his fifteenth laps and was still far away from 100. _Wait, she's not even sweating! What the hell!_ Summoning up a burst of speed, he managed to catch Suzuki. He panted as she sped up again, forcing him to match her pace.

_Damn it! He's persistent!_ Suzuki thought as that annoying boy caught up with her. It was that boy that always wore that annoying hat. What was his name again? Oh yeah, Echizen Ryoma. She sped up to her sprinting pace and dashed around the track, neck and neck with Ryoma. They were on their twenty-fifth lap and she knew that she should pace herself, but she would _not_ lose to this arrogant brat.

"Arrogant brattling," she muttered to herself. Who was he to compete with _her_? She brought her hand up and cracked her knuckles in his ear, smirking as he stumbled. She pulled ahead again.

_I'm not going to lose!_ Ryoma thought as he faltered. _Damn, what does she do everyday?_ He thought as she cracked her knuckles in his ear. What was up with that? He smirked at the competition and sped up again to match her pace. His legs were starting to give out on him.

"Sugoi, Echizen!" Takashi called as Ryoma sped around the track again neck and neck with that girl. They were going at the speed of the dash specialist from Hyotei, Shishido Ryo. He couldn't help but notice the difference between the two. While the girl was barely sweating, Ryoma's pace was already slowing down.

"Suzuki's running faster than usual today," Kanon commented as she slowed down to run with him. "That boy is really giving her some competition, but she'll pull through in the end."

"Huh?" Takashi asked. Then what she just said registered in him mind. "You call that running!? It's more like sprinting!" He yelled in astonishment.

Kanon laughed at this and pushed her turquoise hair out of her eyes. "Suzuki used to be on the track. She can run 3000 meters in seven minutes. Plus, even if she is tired, she'll run until her legs go numb." Her eyes shown with pride. "That's why we call her our Cheetah."

_Cheetah?_ What she said suddenly sunk in. _3000 meters in seven minutes! _"T-that's not possible," he stuttered.

"Go Ochibi!" Eiji cheered, "Crush her!" Ryoma and Suzuki were rounding their fiftieth lap. Neither was giving an inch, though all could tell that Ryoma was obviously out matched in this competition.

Ryoma cursed as he stumbled again. His legs were feeling like lead and Suzuki was gaining the lead again. His eyes locked on her wispy blue hair. It was flying in the breeze in front of him. _No!_ He mustered more energy and caught up again. He could no longer feel that hair tickling his nose.

Suzuki narrowed her eyes as the guy caught up again. _Nobody beats me in running!_ The she smiled. She was _only _running, not sprinting. She wasn't called a Cheetah for nothing. Yes, she would tire the boy out then crush him by a landslide. She quickened a bit more and smiled when the boy did the same.

Momo watched as the two sped past him for the unth time. He noticed that the girl's leg muscles were bulging. He hadn't seen it before, but for the first time, he noticed how big they were. "Echizen had got it coming to him. That girl's fast." He watched thoughtfully as the girl pushed off with her left leg. They literally left dust in her wake. It reminded him of a firecracker.

"Hmm… Firecracker-chan indeed." He muttered to himself.

* * *

Fuji sat and gulped water from the tap. Everybody was sprawled somewhere panting breathlessly. Ryoma and Suzuki were both laying n the floor, too exhausted to get up. They were on the ninety-fifth lap when Suzuki had suddenly started sprinting. She cleared the last five laps in two minutes and collapsed.

"Alright, get up and we'll start doing push-ups." Ren instructed, hand on hip. Some dark strands of hair lay on her face.

The girls groaned and got up tiredly, dragging some of the boys with them. They got down on the ground and pushed their hands under them, lifting their entire body off the ground. They went down again and stayed their for twenty-some seconds before pushing up again.

"Amateratsu-san is a demon," Eiji leaned over ad whispered to Momo. He had never seen push-ups like these before. They looked exhausting.

"I-I'm not sure I can do these," Takashi stuttered uncertainly.

"Here, Take-san," Fuji handed him his yellow racket.

The taller boy took the racket. Immediately he changed. A fire blazed in his chocolate brown eyes. "Great-o! I'm gonna do one hundred of these! C'mon!" He yelled in accented in English.

Around him, all the regulars were reluctantly getting on their arms and trying to do what the girls were doing. Some of them had trouble just getting their feet off the ground. Ren sighed as she watched her girls do her drills in a steady pace. Sweat was streaming through their hair.

"Your team has potential, Tezuka-san," she complimented. It was true, after five minutes, all of them were doing it at a steady pace.

"Yours too, Amateratsu-san," He complimented back.

"Ren," she corrected. "Amateratsu-san is such a mouthful. Saying it only wastes time."

Tezuka looked at her curiously and nodded. He resumed his watch of the work-out. It was extraordinary how easily the girls were doing the push-ups. It really was amazing. He made a mental note to make them to the same when they got back.

"Alright, we'll start practice matches now." Ren told them when they were done. "There will be three matches at the same time and switch off." She paused and exchanged a glance with Tezuka. The two had stayed up and discussed what would happen during training and he had agreed with her methods. "The following matches will be, Ai and Kikumaru-san on court A," a girl with dirty blond hair and green eyes stood up. "Ikari and Kaidoh-san on court C," they both walked to the courts wordlessly. "Suzuki and Momo-san on court E." Both glared at each other.

* * *

On court A…

"One set match! Kikumaru to serve!"

Eiji tapped his racket on the ground a bit a smiled with one eye closed. He tossed the ball up and hit an easygoing serve. The girl across from him dashed forward and hit it back. He remembered her name was Ai. She was quite cute actually.

He launched himself in air and returned it. Ai smiled, she drew her arm back and swung. The ball launched itself to his side of the court before he could react.

"15-love!"

"Nya~ that's so fast," Eiji commented, looking at the small indent the girl had made on the ground. It was surprising considering how shy the girl was outside the courts. He shrugged and served again. Again, the girl hit it back with amazing force. But he was prepared for it this time. He did a one handed cartwheel and managed to reach it.

"30-love!"

The racket clattered to the ground behind him. He looked at his shaking hands. A small frown replaced the frown on his lips and he retrieved his racket.

"She has strength to rival Taka-san's," Inui muttered as he jotted down notes in his notebook.

Ami nodded though she wasn't really watching. "Yeah, Ai-chan is really strong."

"That's why we call her the Dragon of the Courts." Ren suddenly appeared beside them. "She may not look it but that girl's got serious power." Her arms were crossed in a severe manner as she watched, nodding approvingly.

"Gambatte, Eiji!" Oishi suddenly cheered for his doubles partner. He knew this was a practice match, but it was an urge. Eiji always did it for him, so why not?

"Hai, Oishi," Eiji spared a moment from the game to give him a smile and hold up a 'V' sign.

"Game Kokoro! 1 game to love! Switch courts!"

* * *

On court C…

"One set match! Ikari to serve!"

Ikari narrowed her eyes at the boy across from her. He was wearing a green bandana and a concentrated expression. As she watched, he let out a, "Fshhhhh," and got into a receiving stance. _I won't lose,_ she vowed to herself before she served. The ball bounced on the other side of the court and her opponent ran to return it.

She returned it with slice shot and he lobbed. Ikari narrowed her eyes in concentration and jumped up. Kaidoh braced himself, fully prepared for a smash. His eyes widened in surprise when the ball dropped downward. He ran forward, racket stretched out and volleyed it over the net.

"Nice, Kaidoh!" Takashi called from the sidelines.

"Saa… that was good."

Miyoki looked grim. She folded her arms and shook her head. "He fell into her trap," she told him.

"Huh?" Both Fuji and Takashi turned their heads to look at her.

She motioned to the match.

Ikari caught Kaidoh's volley and smashed it on the line.

"15-love!"

"That was fast," Takashi breathed. "I could barely see it." He rubbed his eye a few times.

"Ikari's serves are almost all invisible serves because they're so fast." Miyoki told them.

"It's almost as fast as Sanada's."

Ikari was serving again. She bounced the ball on the ground a few times and paused. Suddenly, a ball went whizzing by Kaidoh. It flew past him with inhuman speed and all he could do was stare.

"30-love!"

Kaidoh scowled. "Fshhhh," he breathed in and out. _Calm down, calm down! You didn't train that hard everyday to get beaten that easily by a girl._ He lowered his torso in a receiving position. Once again, the ball came whizzing by. He stepped to the side and swung the racket.

_It's heavy,_ Kaidoh realized. He swung the racket up.

"Fault!"

Ikari breathed a sigh of relief and served again. This time, Kaidoh was able to catch up with it. He caught it when it was near the edge. His arms snapped out and swung with his entire arm.

The ball curved through the refs bench and bounced in the singles square.

"30-15!"

* * *

On court E…

Momo panted and lowered himself into the receiving position. His opponent was on par with Echizen, if not better. Suzuki smiled and served again. He could barely react as the ball whizzed by him.

"2 games to one! Change court! Momoshiro to serve!

"Made made da ne," Ryoma said with his signature smirk n his face and his arms folded.

"You try playing her!" Momo yelled, sipping some water from a bottle. Across from him, Suzuki was doing the same. "She's like a female version of you!"

Kanon and Amaya snickered inwardly. Ryoma shot them an annoyed glare.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean!?" Suzuki called from the court. "Just for that, I'm going to crush you even harder. Now hurry up!"

"She is not like me," Ryoma muttered inwardly. He tugged his hat lower and turned away. But he quickly turned back again at the sound of a rally.

Momo and Suzuki were battling it out in the court. Although it was obvious that Suzuki had the upper hand, Momo wasn't giving in. Finally, she lobbed. Momo locked on his target. He rushed forward and smashed.

"Don," he finished, kneeling on the ground with his two arms out in front of him.

"15-love!"

Suzuki looked at the ball and at Momo again. She remained silent and lowered herself into a receiving position. Her expression didn't give anything away. It was a poker face to rival Tezuka's. Her misty-blue hair blew in the wind and blowing across her face. A fire lit up in her eyes and she smiled wickedly.

Izuka observed the match with interest. She wasn't interested in saying anything r commenting, she just wanted to watch. "Suzuki is getting serious," she whispered to herself.

Ryoma looked at her, startled. It was first time that he had heard her talk. It was almost _musical_, it sounded soothing. She met his cat-like gaze with a look of her own. It was probing and gentle, like he was a strange specimen.

"Che," he muttered, turning towards the match again. Momo was getting pummeled again.

"Game Nakamura! Six games to one!"

Suzuki walked up with an arrogant air to her. She stuck her hand out and gave Momo a smirk. After Momo had said she was a female version of Ryoma, she didn't let him get a game again. It wasn't necessary that she had to get serious, but she seemed to have gotten offended.

"I won," she said, meeting his violet gaze with her amber ones.

"Che, brat," Momo muttered as he shook her hand.

"You know you didn't have to get that serious, right?" Kanon asked under her breath.

"I know," Suzuki replied, sipping some water.

"You really got pummeled by our Suzuki," Amaya observed happily.

"What did you say?" Momo growled.

Amaya shrugged nonchalantly. "I just said that you got pummeled by Suzuki. Are you deaf?"'

He made a move to grab the collar of her shirt but was stopped by Tezuka.

"Momo," the older male warned.

"Hai, buchou."

"Nya~ Ochibi, you have to watch Kaidoh's match with us!" Eiji came bounding up with Oishi, Inui, and Ren behind him.

"Heh," Momo chuckled. "I wonder how that Mamushi is doing."

They all arrived at court C. Kaidoh and Ikari were just entering tie-break. They were both panting.

"2-love! Advantage Ikari!"

"Gambatte, Kaidoh!" Eiji yelled enthusiastically.

"Crush him, Ikari!" Ami yelled even louder. "C'mon!"

"2-1!"

"Ha!" Ami yelled at Eiji.

"Crush her, Kaidoh ~nya!" He yelled in response.

"Ikari's being pushed hard," Ren observed, arms crossed.

Miyoki nodded, her black eyes taking everything in. "She's almost at her limit."

"Kaidoh is too," Oishi agreed. "It's a battle of will now." His deep green eyes shown with pride as the match progressed. "Gambatte, Kaidoh!" He suddenly had the urge to yell.

"2-all!"

Tezuka checked his watch. He frowned at how long the match had been going. This was supposed to be a practice match. He looked up. Storm clouds were starting to form. It would start to rain soon.

"3-2! Advantage Kaidoh!"

It was a see-saw match. Kaidoh would have the advantage, then, Ikari would take it back. Neither player was giving an inch. Both teams had stopped cheering and they fell into silence. _I've got to win this!_ The players thought.

Kaidh looked up and noticed the storm clouds forming. He felt a drop of rain splatter onto his cheek. A faint scent of rain drifted in the breeze. He narrowed his brow and waited for the next serve. He'd have to win this before they noticed.

"Ikari, Kaidoh-san, get inside! We'll have to get shelter from the rain!" The ball dropped from Ikari's hand. Ren stood in the court wit both arms crossed severely. "We can continue this later." There was a tense silence and for a moment, it looked like both players would ignore her.

Ikari gave out first. She walked to the fence and held out a callused hand. "It was nice playing you." She told him. "I hope I can beat you next time."

Kaidoh walked over and shook it. "Fshhhh," he sighed. "I… enjoyed it."

She laughed and walked away. It seemed that his hesitant reply humored her. The faint splatter of rain started, suddenly, it was pouring. The teams rushed for the shelter of the main building.

"Huh," Izuka gasped as she lost her footing. She tried to twist her body so that she could break the fall. She squeezed her eyes shut and waited…

Her eyes opened again. She found she was only a few inches away from the ground. Her fall had been broken by a pair of hands.

"Are you okay?" An equally gentle voice asked. Fuji set her on her feet again and studied her curiously.

Izuka immediately lowered her eyes. _ Why him? Of all people, why him?_ She bowed a few times and mumbled a hushed "Arigatou," before rushing away to join the rest of her friends.

Fuji watched her go curiously. He looked down and noticed a red dragonfly hairclip. The girl had dropped it when she was falling. He picked it up and tucked it in his pocket.

* * *

"Nya~I'm bored, Oishi." Eiji complained, clinging on to his doubles partner's arm.

"We should do something fun." Ami suggested, bouncing around the room like a sugar-high maniac.

"Ano… Ami-chan," Ai stopped, deciding that saying anything wouldn't make a difference.

Ren sighed and got up before things could get out of control. An adjustment to the training menu should work until the rain stopped. "Alright," all eyes turned to her as soon as she spoke in that authoritative voice. Tezuka couldn't help admire how easily she got their attention; he only wished his team was as obedient.

"A simple adjustment to our training schedule should do it. So, we'll be doing our afternoon routines inside today."

A loud cheer came from the girls. Nothing was more fun than afternoon training. Ren could probably make getting hit in the face with a ball fun, actually, she already have.

"We'll be playing dodge ball with ankle and wrist weights today."

The boys' team exchanged some puzzled glances. Did their captain actually agree to this?

"Since it is inside, try to stick to the hallways. The team who loses has to run 200 hundred laps.

"WHAT THE HELL!"

Ren raised a brow in amusement. They could practically see the mirth dancing in her eyes. Yep, if that was the punishment, Tezuka definitely agreed to this.

"The team, who wins gets to sleep late."

Most people believe in the saying- To get a donkey to move you put a stick behind it and a carrot in front. Ren believes that to get a donkey to move you put a bulldozer behind and a clear path in front.

"We'll have two teams and Tezuka-san and I will lead."

"Wait, why do you guys get to lead?" Eiji asked.

Ren silenced him with a glare. "We'll pick the teams then get our ankle weights and dodge balls."

Tezuka scanned the group in front of him. "Oishi," he decided as his first choice. The third year came to stand by him.

"Kanon," Ren said, also choosing her vice captain.

"Momo."

"Ai."

"Inui."

"Ami."

_Fuji next._ He opened his mouth, then the saw the smile on Fuji's face and changed his mind. "Echizen."

"Che."

"Amaya."

Tezuka looked at his team. There were still four people next, but he had also seen potential in the five girls. "Nakamura-san," he decided. The girl had shown skill that was on par with Echizen's when they had played. Her eyes widened in surprise as she went to stand by him.

Ren smiled at his next choice. It had been what she would have picked. Her eyes narrowed on the boys on his team. Each one of them looked like they had potential. _Well, Tezuka, if you are intent on stealing my players, I'll steal yours._ "Kaidoh-san," the second year went to stand by her.

"Shiori-san," she looked observant.

"Amaya," she went to stand by Ren, looking relieved that she didn't have to be on Tezuka's team.

"Akahana-san," she went to stand by Tezuka quietly.

"Fuji-san," the brunette tensai smiled creepily and stood by Ren.

Tezuka felt sorry for Ren. She just had to pick Fuji Syuusuke. It wasn't that he was _bad_ or anything. He just tended to annoy the crap out of people when he wanted to. "Watanabe," was his last pick. Her match with Kaidoh showed that she had tenacity. And his team needed her.

"Kawamura-san."

The two teams received colored weights and Ren outlined the rules.

"Okay, so if you are hit by another team's player your out. If your hit in the head your out. And if the other player catches the ball the person who threw it is out. We can distinguish the teams by the wrist weights," she showed them the blue and red weights. " Oh, and if you break anything you have to run 300 laps."

Silence…

"Okay, I'll be red and Tezuka-san, you can be blue."

Tezuka gave her a nod. "That is all, my team, follow me!" He led them into a secluded hallway. A quick assessment of their skills showed that he had picked a pretty good team. He would be looking forward to this.

* * *

Ren led her team away from Tezuka's. Her competitive nature began to burn brighter the farther away she got. Already, she was thinking up a plan to crush him.


End file.
